'I Don't Think We're Ever Gonna See Another Tom Wilson': Former Caps Defenseman Oleksy On Wilson's Early Days & Growth In D.C.
· Yahoo Sports
For Steven Oleksy, it seemed like just yesterday that he was driving a young Tom Wilson back and forth to the Washington Capitals rink for practice. And even then, he knew that D.C. was going to end up with a franchise player and household name.
Sitting down with The Hockey News, Oleksy took the time to reminisce about his first years with Washington, and recalls being one of the players to help Wilson on board when he joined the group full-time in 2013.
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And, if he needed one word to describe him, he uses one that's become a common moniker for Wilson these days.
"Unicorn is the best way to describe him," Oleksy said.
One thing that stood out to him from the start, even when Wilson was a rookie, was Wilson's character and locker-room presence.
Over the years, Wilson has become of the more vocal and trusted leaders in D.C. and has emerged as the next captain-in-waiting.
Oleksy wasn't surprised to see Wilson embrace that role considering how he's been able to maintain a positive attitude.
"I talk about the person more than the player, especially somebody like him. There's a false narrative from outsiders about somebody like Tom Wilson and the way he plays; he is one of the best human being I've ever met," Oleksy said. "Even through all his success, I can literally tell you, he is one of the only guys I've ever come across that has not changed as a person with the success of his career... Just an ultimate human being and a born leader in every aspect of the word."
Then, there's everything else he brings to the table.
In his early days, Wilson fought his way onto the Capitals' opening-night roster, and was a fourth liner and enforcer who delivered heavy hits and added depth scoring.
Since then, he's been able to fine-tune and add to his game to become one of the league's most dynamic power forwards. Not only can Wilson hit, but he's a consistent scorer up front, goes hard to the net, makes plays, plays on both special teams and can log heavy minutes, while playing whatever role's asked of him.
It's something special, and for Oleksy, it's an invaluable part of D.C.'s identity.
"I don't think we're gonna ever see another Tom Wilson," Oleksy said. "Especially with how much the the the way the sport has changed, (it's impressive) to be somebody that can score the way he does, play as physical as he does, be as tough and you know feared in a good way, like not a scary way, but just a good way. He's is a do-it-all kind of guy and do everything very, very, very well."